Nightmare (Repaint)

Nightmare is one of the most iconic black creatures in Magic’s history, first printed in Alpha (1993). This was one of the first scaling creatures in Magic- a card that grows stronger as your mana base develops, making it both flavorful and mechanically elegant. Nightmare is the kind of card that made players fall in love with black magic in the first place, being a flying embodiment of your devotion to swamps. It rewarded commitment to black mana; the more you leaned into black, the stronger it became. It was a recognizable finisher in early tournaments and casual play, and many early black deck archetypes included it simply because it was the “coolest” thing to cast at six mana. During early competitive play (mid-1990s), Mono-Black decks often preferred more efficient threats like Sengir Vampire, Hypnotic Specter, and Juzam Djinn. Nightmare occasionally appears in Old School (93/94) Mono-Black Control or Midrange lists, but as mentioned there are stronger options available. Nightmare is not on the Reserved List and has been reprinted repeatedly across numerous sets.